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Indy 500: McLaren to use Chevrolet for Fernando Alonso entry in 2019

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 26: Fernando Alonso of Spain, driver of the #29 Chandon Honda drives during Carb day for the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 26, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 26: Fernando Alonso of Spain, driver of the #29 Chandon Honda drives during Carb day for the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 26, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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McLaren are set to use Chevrolet engines when they field an Indy 500 entry for two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso in 2019.

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso won this June’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, meaning he is just one Indianapolis 500 victory away from becoming just the second driver to win each of the three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport at least once.

The 37-year-old Spaniard is also a two-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, as he won the race in the 2006 and 2007 Formula 1 seasons. Only Graham Hill has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indy 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix.

After attempting the Indy 500 for the first time last year in the #29 Honda fielded by McLaren via a partnership with Andretti Autosport, Alonso did not compete in this year’s edition of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

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However, it was confirmed earlier this month that Alonso is set to return to compete in the 103rd running of the Indy 500 next year, and it was confirmed that he would do so driving for McLaren once again. What was not confirmed at the time was which engine manufacturer the Woking-based team would partner with to field an entry for the 32-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner.

Now it has been confirmed that McLaren will be using Chevrolet engines in next year’s Indy 500, which was speculated even before Alonso’s ride with the team in this race was confirmed considering the fact that Honda revealed earlier this year that they would not field an IndyCar entry for Alonso.

This was not surprising considering how critical McLaren and Alonso were of Honda’s engines during their three-year partnership together in Formula 1 from the 2015 season through the 2017 season before McLaren switched their engine manufacturer from Honda to Renault, which was one big reason why Alonso opted to return to the Monaco Grand Prix this year as opposed to competing in the Indy 500 again.

In his first career Indy 500 start, which was also his first career IndyCar start and his first career oval start, Alonso qualified in fifth place and led 27 of the first 179 laps of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana before an engine failure with 21 laps remaining prevented him from finishing the race and relegated him to a 24th place finish in it.

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How will Fernando Alonso perform in his second career Indy 500, second career IndyCar race, first career Indy 500 driving a Chevrolet-powered car and first career IndyCar race driving a Chevrolet-powered car?

Find out in just under six months by tuning in to the live broadcast of the 103rd running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 2018 on NBC.